What it measures
Show rate looks at the meetings booked for a period and asks how many actually happened. A no-show is a prospect who doesn't join and doesn't cancel in advance. Teams decide how to count meetings that get rescheduled: some leave them out until the new date, others count the original slot as a miss. For SDR teams, show rate sits between meetings booked and meetings accepted by the account executive, so it often affects how SDRs are paid.
How to calculate it
Show rate = meetings held ÷ meetings booked for the period × 100
Worked example: An SDR books 20 meetings for next week. 15 take place and 5 are no-shows. His show rate is 15 ÷ 20 × 100 = 75%.
Example figures only. Use your own numbers.
Plan your dials and meetings in the cold call calculatorExample
A team notices that meetings booked more than two weeks out are missed more often. SDRs start offering slots within the next few days, ask prospects to accept the invite before hanging up, and send a short reminder the day before that repeats the reason for the meeting.
Why it matters
A booked meeting that never happens wastes an account executive's time and makes the pipeline look healthier than it is. A low show rate usually says something about how the meeting was booked. Common causes are a prospect who agreed just to end the call, a vague reason for meeting, a slot booked too far ahead, or an invite that never reached their calendar. Each of those can be fixed on the booking call itself.
How to raise it on the call
Practice ending calls with a confirmed, specific commitment: restate why you're meeting in the prospect's words, offer two times, confirm the email address and ask them to accept the invite while you're still on the phone. Ask whether anyone else should join. Then practice the reminder and the rebooking call, so a missed meeting becomes a new date instead of a lost lead.